Even mild dehydration can negatively affect your brain functioning and attention span, so it could be holding you back at work and getting in the way of your goals. Drinking a glass of water could perk up your brain with necessary hydration. Interestingly, researchers have also studied how drinking water can affect your heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV).
Heart rate variability refers to the timing between your heartbeats and the variations and patterns. The time between your heartbeats should vary rather than being exactly the same. These slight fluctuations are the sign of an adaptive, healthy autonomic nervous system. Your autonomic nervous system is a network of nerves that helps control your heart rate, digestion, breathing, and other involuntary functions. This system works automatically and unconsciously (autonomic). Heart rate variability measures the micro-variations in the time intervals between your consecutive heartbeats.
It turns out, there’s a link between your hydration and HRV. You can add electrolytes and flavor your water, too. I love cucumber water and using fresh mint from my garden. Here’s a look at the science.
Hydration and HRV: The link
In a small study of eight men, the researchers explored how drinking water impacts heart rate responses and markers of vagal tone modulation. Vagal tone modulation refers to the activity of the vagus nerve, which is a primary part of your body’s parasympathetic nervous system and the “rest and digest” state.
The researchers measured participants’ heart rate and heart rate variability parameters following the ingestion of different volumes of still mineral water and found that drinking the water affected the heart rate in a time-dependent manner. In other words, drinking the water (more than 200 mL) significantly decreased the heart rate.
Lowering your heart rate with hydration
Staying hydrated can help lower your resting heart rate, which is good news for your heart health. Decreasing your resting heart rate by drinking plenty of water improves your cardiovascular fitness and efficiency, so your heart doesn’t have to work so hard to pump blood through your body. A lower resting heart rate is associated with better health overall and superior aerobic conditioning.
Another study of 14 healthy young women revealed that the autonomic nervous system responds to drinking cold water, which activates both branches and helps maintain homeostasis and limit excessive increases in blood pressure and heart rate. Homeostasis refers to the self-regulating system of the body that helps keep conditions balanced, such as temperature and blood sugar levels. I think I’m going to top off my water glass and add a spritz of lemon juice.
